How to relieve a bad cough in a 2 year old?

Updated on January 03, 2008
L.O. asks from Sterling Heights, MI
14 answers

My 2 year old daughter has a bad cold. I know we dont have any drugs to get rid of the cold.. But is there anything that will help stop the coughing so she can sleep.. and then I can sleep. WE have all been up for the past 2 nights. I really never knew that they showed the Barney show at 3 am ...

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Summary

Some moms give their toddler honey and Vicks vapor rub on the feet with socks at night, and they think it really works. Some parents prefer medicine, call your doctor before giving your child any over the counter cough or cold medication. Many have been recalled or not recommended by Pediatricians and the FDA because of side effects from stimulants that are used decrease nasal congestion.

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L.H.

answers from Detroit on

A teaspoon of honey and slather vicks on her feet and put socks on her before bed. GUARANTEED the cough will go away.

L. H.

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K.A.

answers from Detroit on

Try giving 1/2 tsp of buckwheat honey a half-hour before bed. My daughter had a cough that kept her and our family up at night for over a week. She had been to the doctors, but there isn't any cough medicine that is recommended for children under 6. I was skeptical of the honey, but it really did work. It has to be buckwheat honey, not the regular kind. Go ahead and google "buckwheat honey for children's cough" and read up on it. I read everything before I gave it to my daughter so I felt more comfortable giving it. The very first night I gave it to her she slept all night for the first time in over a week. Good luck.

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S.C.

answers from Detroit on

Lisa,
Call your doctor before giving your daughter ANY over the counter cough or cold medicine. Many have been recalled or not recommended by Pediatricians and the FDA b/c of side effects from stimulents that are used decrease nasal congestion. I am not up on which brands but I do remember hearing alot of controversy on the subject. You can also talk with your pharmicist in detail about any over the counter medications your doctor may recommend. My sis-in-law raves about the Delsym.
Try a cool mist huidifier, Steamy shower, raising the head of her matress so she sleeps at a slight elevation, vicks, NEVER GIVE PURE HONEY TO A CHILD UNDER ONE!!! It contains botulism spores and can be dangerous b/c their immune systems are still immature.
My son had pneumonia last year so I know how horrible the coughing is!! Good luck.

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C.S.

answers from Detroit on

Yes, you can put Vicks vaporub on her feet and cover them with pure cotton socks. You may want to do this when she is napping or sleeping.
Good luck!

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T.B.

answers from Detroit on

Lisa~at this time of year I have the same problem with both of my kids only its just the cough with no cold. My doctor has always told me to use the Delsym cough medicine. It works for 12 hours. My kids love the taste and it helps them to sleep at night.
http://www.delsym.com/

Hope this helps and happy new year!

T.

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L.M.

answers from Detroit on

chicken soup and lots of fluids butnot milk or o.j.
also try the pedia stuff from pediatricians. and there are also cough strips too.

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C.M.

answers from Detroit on

My daughter had this really bad cough that kept my husband and I up at night (somehow she slept through this hideous hack-fest that she had and there were no other symptoms except the cough) and we used Pedia Care Children's Long-Acting Cough. I ended up taking her to the doctor and he said to just keep using the Pedia Care if it helped and every time we gave it to her she never coughed during night and the cough eventually went away altogether. Hope this helps!

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D.G.

answers from Detroit on

Take vick's vapor rub and put it on her foot the bottom of them and then but her socks on and put her to bed that way. It worked for my son and he is 2. Good luck! D.

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L.M.

answers from Detroit on

HI,
My child is younger than yours,when she had a cough the MD said I could give her some Benadryl for the cough, so we could both sleep at night. You need to call them ask about the correct dosing for your daughters age and size. We can only use a 1/2 tsp when nescessary.I also use saline for babies nose.
Hope that helps.
L.

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K.W.

answers from Detroit on

My ped reccomends Delsym It lasts for 12 hours Works great for my kids

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C.S.

answers from Detroit on

My 3yo is just getting over a similar cold, the cough got so bad she was harldy getting any sleep. I tried a lot of different cough meds and I have to say NONE of them worked. The only thing that helped a little was giving her drinks of tea with honey, or using cough drops or pectin suckers. CVS and Meijer both have a pectin sucker in the kids cold meds area, they're called Rhino Pops or something like that. Those work pretty well, I'm sure they're bad for their teeth, but they coat the throat temporarily. My daughter had to finally go on steroids to get rid of the cough, it went from at night only to all night, all day. Hope she gets better soon!!!

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L.A.

answers from Detroit on

You can give an otc medication called Delsyme. This medication can be used for 2 yo and older. You can also use the warm mist humidifier. May she is getting drainage on the back of her throat when she is laying down, claritin help can help that. Claritin liquid can be used on 2 and older. I use it for my 2 year old. Hope that help.

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B.E.

answers from Detroit on

Don't ask me where, but I just read a few days ago about using honey for a cough suppressant. Someone did a sleep study (again, sorry, don't know who) and found that honey worked better than any of the conventional cough medicines they tested for helping kids sleep through the night. Sounds like it's worth a try to me!

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N.W.

answers from Detroit on

The vicks vapor rub on the feet with socks at night really works...I don't know why but it does. We also use a humidifer and the vicks wall waterless humidifiers. If the coughing is really bad, sometimes the shower soothers or just a hot shower (you'll probably have to climb in too) helps. They also make a baby vapor bath that works wonders (I sometimes use it too).

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